


Knight's New Clothes

by Tren



Category: Fate/Apocrypha
Genre: Gen, Shopping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-04 23:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,902
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12178815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tren/pseuds/Tren
Summary: Shishigou goes shopping with his new Servant to get her some clothes.





	Knight's New Clothes

When Mordred announced that she needed some clothes, Shishigou felt relieved. Her current clothing would certainly catch attention of both enemies and bystanders. And while he and his Servant would probably spend most of the time in place with not much living people (he had already scouted a really promising cemetery where they could set their base), they _would_ have to venture to some civilized areas to get basic necessities. Not to mention, he had no doubt that Mordred preferred to spend time materialized, as opposed to sneaking around as a spirit. Which he was grateful for, because whenever Mordred dematerialized he couldn’t stop imaging her making faces at people in her invisible form. He felt more secure when he could keep an eye on her.

Also, conspicuousness aside, the binding she used for her breast was definitely badly fitted and she probably had no idea how unhealthy it was. Shishigou was determined to acquire a proper bra for her during their little shopping adventure. He was sure it was in some way his responsibility as a Master. 

And so the two of them entered the first bigger clothing store they found open. Shishigou was pretty sure it was a chain store, though he didn’t recognize its name. Immediately after entering Mordred squeaked with happiness and dashed inside like an overexcited cat. Shishigou stood there slightly stupefied, until he remembered that there were no retails in Camelot and it was probably the first time Mordred had seen such a huge selection of clothing in one shop. Not to mention some kinds of clothes that had not existed in medieval times. Judging by the awestruck look Mordred was giving to the section with jeans, the young knight had just found her new favourite piece of clothing.

“Um, could I help you?” a timid voice asked him. Shishigou turned his head to see a young female clerk next to him. She looked slightly intimidated by Shishigou’s appearance. He almost sighted at that. Why did people feel so scared of him when he just came to buy their stuff?

“I want to buy some clothing for her,” he explained gesturing towards Mordred, who meanwhile got approached by another clerk. The clerk had apparently quickly ascertained her needs and had already started helping her choose trousers. “Though it seems she’s already on the case.”

The woman paused, probably surprised by the strange clothing Mordred wore.

“She’s your daughter?” she asked, probably hoping to make a comfortable small talk.

“No, I’m her…” Shishigou started, but then paused. He couldn’t say Master, because for anyone outside of Holy Grail War this would sound _very wrong_. He desperately wrecked his brain for some sort of substitute position, before he finally answered, “temporary guardian.”

“Oh, is that so?” 

“Yes, there were some… _circumstances_ ,” he said with an emphasis that killed any questions. “I had to take her in on short notice and I didn’t have time to get her any clothes beforehand. Speaking of, since she’s busy with her trousers, could we maybe move on to get some other stuff for her. As I mentioned it was a very sudden thing and I will also need some bras and underwear for her. Could you please find some for her? I’m afraid she wasn’t taught how to choose a proper bra and I would hate it if she ended up wearing something badly fitting.”

During his speech the woman’s face started to slowly brighten in a genuine smile and by the end of it she seemed to radiate with a newfound good will for Shishigou.

“I understand. I will need to take some measurements before that,” she explained and so the two of them, moved towards who was currently holding several pairs of jeans that Mordred had deemed worthy to try on. 

“Oi,” she called, noticing her Master. “This place is amazing! I knew about jeans, but it’s so different from what I imagined it!” she explained, waving around a pair of them.

“Just don’t buy out the whole shop,” Shishigou retorted with a smile. It was a legitimate concern. Mordred grinned back at him. “When you are finished here, this lady will take some measurements, so listen to her.”

Mordred’s smile fell slightly.

“Do I have to? I can choose my own clothes you know!”

“Really, then how much do you know about bras?” Shishigou taunted, banking on the fact that Grail probably did not instil any detailed knowledge on this particular topic in her mind.

The prolonged silence confirmed the fact that however powerful the Holy Grail was it still had its limitations and underwear was one of them. 

Still, it wouldn’t be Mordred if she didn’t make a valiant attempt.

“It’s the clothing that you carry on your chest… right?” she tried, looking at the clerks as if she expected them to back her up.

“Indeed, you have your basics down,” Shishigou admitted calmly. He needed to somehow warm her to the idea and he needed to figure it out fast. “However, there is much more to it. Did you know… a properly fitted bra can boost your combat performance!” 

“What? Really?!” Mordred gaped at this sudden nugget of knowledge.

“Yes,” Shishigou confirmed with all the seriousness he could muster. “It may not seem like much, but it should improve your control your upper body movement and lighten the strain on your body. And I think you can understand where I’m coming from. I want to make sure you are in top form before we tackle the obstacles on our way!”

There was a tense moment where Shishigou really wasn’t sure if his bluff (actually, was it a bluff if it was an exaggerated truth?) would work. Saber was looking at him with a neutral face of someone doing the math in their head.

And then she beamed.

“Heh, glad to know you are taking this seriously,” she said cheerfully, slapping Shishigo’s back. It took all his strength not to buckle at the impact. “If you are putting so much thought into it, it must be important.” Mordred turned to the female clerk. “Show the way!” she commanded, as she threw the pair of jeans she was holding back to the male clerk. “Oh, and I will want that short pair of jeans!” she added, waving toward another pair, lying on the shelf.

Shishigo turned in that direction to see something that looked like jeans which got mauled by a lawnmower. They weren’t short. There was barely enough material to call it trousers at all.

 _I guess teenagers are into this sort of thing,_ Shishigo thought idly.

For a second he worried that Mordred would be cold, wearing something like that on cold Romanian nights, but then remembered that heroic spirits probably didn’t have to worry about mundane things like temperature.

*

It took almost half an hour, but Saber emerged from the changing room with a new and well-fitted bra that she liked. Shishigo felt proud. There was a true feeling of accomplishment blossoming in his heart. 

He might had been new to this whole Master things, but he was sure he was doing it right.

“We should get you some shirt now,” he mused loudly, moving towards a nearby stack of them. However, Saber’s firm hold on his hand quickly stopped him.

“Shirt? Why would I need one? This bra thing is already perfect!” Mordred interjected. “Though you are not mistaken that there is something more I need.”

Shishigou paused, trying to figure out what clothing Mordred could be referring to, but he drew blank. Mordred was silent, magnanimously waiting for his reply.

“What is it?” he asked, giving up.

Mordred smiled wildly at him, before pointing at him.

“A jacket! Like the one that you have!” she announced excitedly, waving her hands for emphasis.

Shishigou smirked despite himself. Mordred had a good sense of style after all.

“That’s a great idea, Saber. I think they had some nice jackets near the entrance.”

*

Fifteen minutes and much deliberation later, Mordred’s bias towards the red colour finally enabled her to decide on one jacket. Shishigou was rather happy with this outcome, considering that Mordred’s first decision was to buy all five jackets she liked. 

Only strong appeals to her benevolence and the rather important fact that the clothes funds were taken _from_ food funds managed to convince her to maybe think more carefully about the choice.

Shishigou approached the checkout with a sigh of relief. The shop wasn’t on fire and Saber seemed genuinely happy with her new clothes. He had avoided all potential pitfalls of shopping with Mordred. He glanced at the knight, who had been busy praising the male clerk for his sound service. The man seemed slightly overwhelmed, but was gracefully accepting her words. Everything looked fine.

He was about to pay, when he noticed a set of discounted items lying next to the register.

“Please also add this to the bill,” he said, taking one of them.

* 

“This jacket is great! I wish we had them in Camelot!” Mordred announced happily, flapping the sleeves of her jacket. “Way better than all those heavy coats.”

“Glad you like it,” Shishigou said. He paused for a moment, deciding that this as good a moment as any. “By the way, I have one more thing for you.”

Mordred’s head immediately snapped towards him. 

“A gift! What is it?” she asked sneaking closer. She didn’t even try to hide her curiosity.

Shishigou wordlessly reached inside the pocket of his jacket to produce a pair of sunglasses and handed them to Mordred.

She looked at them puzzled, as if she was given some sort of a riddle.

“Those are sunglasses, aren’t they?” she asked, as she tried them on.

“Yes, I thought they may fit you,” Shishigou replied with a nod. He was starting to feel far more nervous than he had any right to be.

Mordred winced slightly as she looked around while wearing them. It wasn’t a good sign.

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask,” she started, as she slowly took the sunglasses off her head, “they are used to protect your eyes from sun, right?”

“Yes,” Shishigou replied flatly. He didn’t like where this was going.

“And they don’t serve any other function?” 

“…not really.” 

“Then why are you wearing them at night? I can barely see anything with them on,” Mordred asked puzzled.

Shishigou tried very much not to feel awkward. He was failing.

“You get used to them and they are helpful when you face enemies with flashy attacks,” he said, then paused. For once Mordred _was quiet_ and it made it even worse, because she seemed actually curious about his answer. Shishigou took a deep breath. He may as well admit it. “And they also look cool.”

A smile slowly spread on Mordred’s face and for a moment it felt like she would make fun of him, but instead she made a satisfied, “I knew it!”

“Knew what?” Shishigou asked, confused by Mordred’s reaction.

“Nothing,” Mordred turned around her smile still wide. “Thanks for everything, master,” she said with her back turned to him. She waved the pair of sunglasses she was holding. “I will use them when it’s bright outside.”

“Do as you please.”

Mordred chuckled, as if to say she was going to do exactly that.

Shishigou couldn’t help but also smile, as they continued to walk towards their next destination.


End file.
